Manchester United's Tielemans Gamble: A Bargain for £35m

Shay Given has seen enough transfer windows to know when a club overpays for hype and when it quietly steals value. In his eyes, Manchester United have finally landed on the right side of that line.

Youri Tielemans for £35 million. In this market, that figure almost looks like a typo.

Given, speaking to BOYLE Sports, didn’t bother dressing it up. He set Tielemans’ fee directly against the eye-watering sums spent elsewhere in midfield – £100m on Sandro Tonali, £75m on Bruno Guimaraes – and called it for what he believes it is: a bargain.

Aston Villa’s hand was forced. They had picked Tielemans up on a free and, under financial rules, were pushed into a sale despite the backing of billionaire owners. United stepped in and paid £35m for a player who has been a constant at both club and international level.

“To sign Tielemans for £35 million when Sandro Tonali was £100 million, well that’s actually a really good piece of business because United are getting a really experienced player for club and country,” Given argued, making his point with the blunt clarity of someone who’s watched fees spiral for a decade.

The question put to him was simple: had United weakened their midfield by not going after Tonali or Guimaraes? His answer was just as straightforward. No. In Tielemans, he sees a “really good signing” and, crucially, better value.

For a club accused so often of paying the ‘United tax’, that matters.

Lammens and the End of the Goalkeeper Carousel

Given’s praise didn’t stop in midfield. His real excitement, the kind that carries the weight of a former elite goalkeeper, is reserved for Senne Lammens.

In his view, United have not just signed a competent keeper. They’ve found the most complete one to walk into Old Trafford since David De Gea left.

“I think Senne Lammens has got the lot,” Given said. “He’s been a breath of fresh air for Manchester United.”

That line cuts deep when you remember what United’s goal has looked like in recent seasons: uncertainty, nerves, and a revolving door feel. Andre Onana and Altay Bayındır, Given admitted, simply “weren’t at the level required” for where United want to be.

So when Lammens arrived, Given expected decisive action. He was surprised Ruben Amorim didn’t throw the Belgian straight into the fire.

The first Manchester derby after Lammens signed loomed as a natural moment. City had once put Gianluigi Donnarumma straight in. Amorim, more cautious, hesitated. Lammens’ age and relative inexperience in such a seismic fixture played a part.

Given would have made a different call.

He sees a keeper who plays with an unusual calmness, a presence that doesn’t match his years. “Nothing seems to faze him,” he said, and that, from a man who lived the pressure of the position, is no small compliment.

From World Cup Error to Old Trafford Anchor

Lammens’ story isn’t a straight upward curve. The biggest blot on his young career came on the grandest stage.

At the World Cup, he came off the bench and made the kind of mistake that haunts highlight reels and players’ minds alike. A routine shot, one he would save “99 times out of a 100”, slipped from his grasp. The fumble proved fatal for his country’s campaign.

Given, though, zeroed in on the context. For a goalkeeper, he argued, coming on cold is a different sport.

“I think it’s 10 times harder to come off the bench as a goalkeeper than an outfield player,” he said. A midfielder can take a simple touch, roll the ball back, find the rhythm of the game. A keeper often has no such luxury. For Lammens, that first meaningful contact with the ball in “probably two hours” was the shot he spilled.

He did a quick warm-up on the touchline. It wasn’t enough. The ball slipped, the World Cup dream went with it, and the weight of a nation’s exit landed squarely on his shoulders.

“There will be mental scars from that,” Given admitted. But the key, in his eyes, is what happened next.

Lammens returned to Manchester United, back into a dressing room and a training environment where he can process the mistake, rebuild, and grow. For a 24-year-old goalkeeper, that kind of trauma can either derail a career or harden it. Given clearly believes it will be the latter.

The Keeper Who Changes Everything for United’s Defence

United supporters have spent years watching their back line glance over their shoulders, wondering which version of their goalkeeper would turn up. That uncertainty seeps into every clearance, every back-pass, every high ball.

Given thinks those days are over.

He sees Lammens as the antidote to years of instability between the posts. The Belgian, he says, gives defenders something they’ve lacked: trust.

“I like Senne Lammens a lot, I really do,” Given concluded. “I don’t think United have any problems when it comes to his position now in goal and they’ve got it wrong so many times in the past.”

The praise didn’t stop at shot-stopping. It was about presence. About what a goalkeeper makes his teammates feel.

Lammens, he said, is “the sort of goalkeeper that walks onto the pitch and makes everyone feel more secure. They all feel they can trust him. They know he’s going to be a seven or eight out of 10 at least and is going to save them.”

For United, that combination is rare: a cut-price, seasoned midfielder in Tielemans and a goalkeeper in Lammens who might finally close the chapter on a long-running problem.

If Given is right, £35m in midfield and a settled number one at the back could prove more valuable than any headline-grabbing £100m splash.